


Poison

by ToxicTraitor



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:53:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27490759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicTraitor/pseuds/ToxicTraitor
Summary: Tyrande begins to fear that she is losing Illidan to Maiev. Little does she know that Maiev is carrying Illidan's child. However, Illidan's blood is enough to sicken the warden gravely. Will he lose her through his carelessness?
Relationships: Maiev Shadowsong/Illidan Stormrage
Kudos: 20





	Poison

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's me again. Back with more disclaimers! There's two this time.
> 
> 1\. I don't know lore, don't @ me please. I've only been playing since about... midway through legion? I have the Loremaster title but beech, I'm stupid. I didn't retain anything. I used wowpedia to write this. 
> 
> 2\. I don't want this to sound like I'm hating on Tyrande. I don't hate her. I'm kind of mad at her and Malfurion, lbr... I main a night elf and I'm worried about what they're doing and how it will affect the night elves. Anyway, I don't hate her but I do imagine that if Illidan found love elsewhere that she would feel sort of jealous about it. To me, it seems like she and Illidan are alike it a lot of ways but she is hypocritical about it towards Illidan. I tried to capture that in this fic, what I imagine she would feel if Illidan and Maiev actually hooked up, so I hope it comes across well and not as hate.
> 
> 3\. Not a disclaimer but hey, thanks for the support on my previous Maiev x Illidan piece. I wrote this at 3 in the morning because I could not stop thinking about how this fic would play out. I hope you like it and that you don't think I'm weird.

Tyrande’s invitation comes as a surprise to Illidan. Her elegant handwriting is curved and smooth like the edges of the ocean as it collides against the shore. She invites him to have dinner with her,  _ alone _ . It piques Illidan’s interests. She’s so rarely without Malfurion by her side that this invitation is so unlike her. If Illidan could not smell her scent perfuming from the letter, he would think that this must be a trap.

Of course, he knows it is still a trick. Tyrande never asks for him. Whatever she wants from him cannot be pleasant. He has half a mind to burn her letter to ash but his softness for her prevents him from doing so. 

The Illidari that had handed him the letter waits patiently for his answer. She bows to him, kneeling obediently. Her eyes, or what is left of them, burn bright and glow through her blindfold.

“Did Tyrande send this to you herself?” Illidan asks.

“Yes, Master.” The Illidari answers. “She said that it is an urgent matter.”

“Indeed.” Illidan sighs. He crumples the letter in his hand. “You are dismissed.”

  
  


~~~

  
  


Illidan decides to accept the invitation. He’s unsure of what Tyrande wants with him but if she has had the courage to ask him, then it must be of utmost importance. 

When he finds her, their meal has already been served. The table is filled with a delicious banquet of traditional delights. These are the meals of their youths, back in the days when he thought that Tyrande might have loved him.

“Welcome, Illidan.” Tyrande greets. “Please, join me for dinner.”

Illidan takes a seat at the table. He doesn’t take anything to eat, he simply picks at an intricately designed bun. He has no more desire for this food, that desire has long since passed.

Tyrande takes no time to get to the point of her sudden hospitality. She knows that her time with Illidan is limited. Her frown is bitter as she stares at him. 

Her down-turned lips reveal just how much her worries have worn into her. Where her face was once flawless, lines have been etched into her beautiful skin. Now, with her eyes darker than a moonless night, she cannot hide what she has become. What lengths she's gone to so that she may protect her people, to protect her pride and her ego. 

It's an irony that's palatable.

"Illidan." Her tone is harsh, filled with disapproval. He knows this tone too well. He can feel her eyes burning into him, as if she can peer into the depths of his soul. "I've heard of you and… and Maiev. I hope you realize the mistake that you are making by allowing this twisted fantasy of hers to go on."

"Twisted?" Illidan can't help but laugh. "Maiev and I have simply come to a mutual understanding of one another. How is that twisted?"

"You are only furthering her madness." Tyrande continues. "At one time, she served our people well but her sacrifices have driven her mad. I'm afraid--"

"Afraid that you are losing what power you possessed over her? Over me?" Illidan asks. 

Tyrande frowns and swallows back the insults she wants to swing at him. "That is not it."

"Tyrande… How many years have I spent in the shadow of my brother? How many years have I spent desiring your love? Time has taught me many things and yet I know nothing of how to heal the wounds of my heart. You've broken it long ago and you still chose to toy with me." Illidan spits. He had known that this meeting would be another one of Tyrande’s games but he still agreed to come. He knew that this confrontation was bound to happen one day. "Maiev has shown me the love that I've long craved for. The love I wanted from you but you chose to give to another."

"I have told you, Illidan.” Tyrande’s voice is tired, like the voice of a mother that’s had to explain something simple to her toddler for the fifth time. “I made my choice because Malfurion is a good man. He was not seduced by the lust of power as you have been."

"It is ironic, isn't it? You choose to continue to look down on me for the choices I have made and yet you have done the same. What have you sacrificed for the power you now possess, Night Warrior? It seems that you and I are not so different now, are we?"

Tyrande frowns again. "I am doing this for our people. I cannot stand idly by while the Horde continues to slaughter us all."

"Then do not mock me with your words anymore, Tyrande. You've made your sacrifices and I have made mine."

"My sacrifices are not as selfish as yours."

"Perhaps you should look deep within yourself and ask if that is true."

Tyrande glares at him, stung by her words. She knows that he is right. His sudden affair with Maiev has thrown her. She doesn’t love him, at least, she refuses to consider that she might. Yet, she hates to imagine him in the arms of another woman. The thought of him with Maiev sickens her. 

"I have found peace with Maiev, Tyrande. The love I have for you cannot die as easily as I long for it to." Illidan sighs with the hurt he has carried for thousands of years. "However, Maiev has given me a new hope, a new yearning and desire. Perhaps she is mad… then I will gladly descend into that madness with her."

“She will only pollute you further.” Tyrande answers spitefully.

“Then so be it.” Illidan stands to leave. “Enjoy your evening, Tyrande. I do hope that my  _ dear  _ brother knows of all of this.”

He can feel her glare burning into his back as he leaves. He can’t help but smile to himself. Oh, how the tables have turned for her. She refused him time and time again but now the time has come for him to refuse her. It’s bittersweet but it is still a victory in itself.

  
  


~~~

When Illidan returns to Maiev, she’s unhappy with his meeting with the other woman. She frowns and crosses her arms over her chest. Illidan smirks at her, teasing her playfully.

“And what did  _ she  _ want?” Maiev asks. 

Her bitterness towards Tyrande hasn’t lessened, even with the time they’ve spent together after Teldrassil burned. They may have had to work together but it’s not something Maiev takes any pleasure in. The work she does is for her people, not for Tyrande’s sake.

“She wanted to warn me about you.” Illidan answers. He sits heavily in his chair and stretches out his legs in front of him.

Maiev smacks one, urging Illidan to sit properly so she can sit in his lap. She smiles pleasantly as she takes her seat in her throne upon him. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls herself against his chest.

“She called you ‘mad’.” Illidan continues.

“Mad?” Maiev laughs. “Perhaps she is the one losing her way.”

Illidan runs his fingers through Maiev’s silken hair. “She has lost her power over me. It’s something she thought she would control forever. To her, it’s a great loss.”

“Her loss is my gain.” Maiev smiles. “Now  _ I  _ am the one with the power over you, Illidan.”

Illidan touches her cheek softly. It burns beneath his touch as the warden blushes. She turns away furiously, she won’t allow him to see her like this. 

“I am still your charge.” Illidan answers. “I will be yours until the day you release me.”

Maiev turns to face him again, her eyes softer now. “That day will not come, Illidan. Your spawn grows inside of me. You are mine until the end of time.”

Illidan places a hand over Maiev’s stomach. It’s too early on, his child is still too small for him to feel through Maiev’s skin. He’s quietly anticipating the day that he will be able to hold them close. He feels a sense of pride brimming inside of him, that this growing creature is his. For so long, he hadn’t even thought about having a child of his own but Maiev has opened the door to new possibilities for him. 

Even as cursed as he is, with the demon’s blood that courses through him, the blood that has changed him so completely… Even with all of that, he’s still able to have a child of his own. He knows no better woman to bear that child for him. Maiev’s cunning, her feverance and her wit will give him a strong heir. With any luck, they’ll have her cool beauty rather than his beastly appearance. 

He kisses Maiev’s forehead gently. “Until the end.” He agrees.

  
  


~~~

  
  


Illidan bursts into the Wardens’ current residence. He had heard of the news too late. A warden had come to tell him the news but the time it took to travel here may have cost him everything.

Maiev…

The other wardens turn to stare at Illidan as he storms into their room. Several take up arms, crouching as they ready their weapons to fight him. Others stay frozen, too shocked and hesitant to move. 

“Where is she?” Illidan demands.

The wardens exchange a few glances. One steps up and puts her weapon aside, taking place as a temporary leader among them. He doesn’t recognize her face or name when she introduces herself as Warden Shadewatcher, but she speaks as if she’s been expecting him.

She bows to him respectfully. “Master Illidan.”

“Where is Maiev?” Illidan demands again. He has no time for these delays.

“Maiev is just beyond that doorway.” Shadewatcher motions to the door behind her. 

Illidan marches towards the door but she slides into his way. She blocks the door, her head held high in defiance towards him. He growls at her, threatening to break her into pieces if she continues to block him.

“Warden Shadowsong is not well.” Shadewatcher frowns. “I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to see her just yet.”

“What happened to her?” Illidan demands.

The warden exchanges another glance with her sisters. She clears her throat but when she opens her mouth, no words come out. 

“I have no time for this.” Illidan growls.

“Warden Shadowsong…” Another warden starts, her voice is soft, almost fearful. Illidan can hear tears in her voice. “She…”

“She has given birth.” Shadewatcher finally finds the words that she was searching for. 

Her eyes are wide with disbelief. Maiev had managed to hide her pregnancy from them for so long. She eyes Illidan up and down, taking in his large wings and horns. Could it be?

Illidan smiles, slightly relieved at the news. His child has been born. However, Maiev is unwell… And he hears no crying beyond the door. So, where is his child?

“The child? Where are they?” Illidan asks.

Several of the wardens behind Illidan begin to whisper. 

“The children are his.” One warden hisses. 

“So it is  _ his  _ demon’s blood that has tainted Warden Shadowsong?” Another joins in.

Shadewatcher narrows her eyes at Illidan as her suspicions are confirmed. The children were born with horns, with demonic wings sprouting from their backs. There can be no other man that fathered those children. Illidan is the culprit. Suddenly, Maiev’s fondness towards him and her unexplained visits with him make sense. 

“Answer me, Warden.” Illidan demands, growing angrier at every second that ticks by.

“The children were taken away to somewhere safe.” Shadewatcher explains. “Warden Darkburrow has taken them away at Warden Shadowsong’s request.”

“What else did Maiev request of you?” 

Shadewatcher lowers her eyes to the floor. “She requested that one of us call for you.”

“Then why are you keeping me from her?” Illidan growls.

Shadewatcher steps aside, dropping to a kneel at Illidan’s feet. The other wardens hurry to follow her example. Illidan ignores them all and bursts through the final door that separates him from his love.

Maiev lays quietly, a sheen of sweat coating her bare skin. She is naked, aside from the thin cloth that blankets her body. Blood, blacker than the cold depths of Vashj’ir, stains her hair and marrs her flesh. She opens her eyes weakly and a small smile grows on her face as she sees Illidan in the doorway. She beckons for him to come to her.

He does, he drops to his knees by her bed and reaches for her hand. Her skin is so cold. She feels so lifeless. If it were not for the rise and fall of her chest, Illidan would assume that she was already dead.

He reaches to cradle her cheek in his palm. “Maiev…”

“Illidan, you fool… Where have you been?” She asks in her usual fashion, although her voice is weak.

“I came for you as soon as I heard.”

Maiev sighs, closing her eyes. “Your children have weakened me, Illidan. I always knew that your blood was filled with evil. I never expected it to be the very poison to end my life.”

“If I had known then I would not have allowed this to happen.” Illidan promises.

“I know that.” Maiev’s voice is growing weaker. “I would not have it any other way. You have given me two beautiful daughters. By Elune’s blessing, my legacy will be carried by them.”

“Do not speak in such a way, Maiev. I will not allow you to die like this.”

“There is no other way, Illidan. I am too weak.” Maiev forces a smile onto her face. “You are free now, Illidan. You are no longer my charge. Go... go find our daughters and raise them to be a better warrior than I have ever been.”

“There is another way.” Illidan refuses to accept her fate so easily. “Join me, Maiev. I will take you in as one of my Illidari. If you accept our curse, you can live with me forever.”

Maiev laughs so hard that she coughs, choking up more of that vile, blackened blood. “I have dedicated years of my life towards chasing you and your Illidari for your mistake. Do you really think that I would allow myself to make the same choice after all I have sacrificed to stop you?”

“What is one more sacrifice then, Maiev? You have given up so much for our people. Do not abandon them here.”

“My time is done.”

Illidan squeezes her hand. “Then, do not abandon me here.” He whispers to her.

Her eyes are soft as she stares at him. She’s so quiet as she weighs her options that Illidan thinks that her soul has finally left her. He glances up in worry only to find her smiling at him.

“I will accept your offer, then.” She sighs. “I will become one of your Illidari.”

Illidan smiles at her, relieved. Her choice was hard but it’s nothing compared to the pain she will witness through her transformation. However, Illidan knows that she is strong enough to survive the torment she will face. She will make a fine Illidari.

He kisses her once and then he begins the ritual.


End file.
